TRADE Minister Richard Caborn has insisted that the Government is aware of the needs of East Lancashire's manufacturing industry in wake of the loss of 'vital' cash.

In a letter to Burnley MP Peter Pike, the Minister said he welcomed the opportunity to visit the area and to discuss with local MPs and other representatives how they could best use other measures to meet the needs of the people and industry, after the loss of assisted area status for Burnley, Hyndburn and Rossendale.

Mr Pike commented: "We need to look positively at the Minister's proposed meeting. I also have an adjournment debate at the end of business on Monday, May 8, on the issue of the loss of assisted area status." Local MPs and local councils have complained that areas better off than those in East Lancashire have been included, while Burnley, Hyndburn and Rossendale have been wiped off the assisted area status map at a time when major redundancies have been announced in local manufacturing industries. Mr Caborn assured Mr Pike that the Government had fought hard to secure the European Commission's agreement on proposals for the new assisted areas which included East Lancashire.

During negotiations, however, it had become clear that the Commission would not accept their proposals which they believed would give an unfair advantage over other member states.

He said they had to make two key changes, reducing the population covered by a third of a million people and to show that the proposed areas were more compact and self contained.

They could not simply extend coverage from Blackburn at a time when the overall population ceiling was being reduced.

Amendments had been made solely to meet the Commission's concerns and not because the British Government did not appreciate the needs of the area.

The minister added: "We will, for example, ensure that small and medium size enterprises in Burnley, Hyndburn and Rossendale continue to have access to the Enterprise Grant scheme over which we have control."